OMAHA, Neb. — With the help of a state grant, CHI Health was able to acquire special disinfecting robots to help sanitize operating rooms, isolation rooms and of course COVID-19 patient rooms. The new technology hopes to revolutionize sanitation procedures during the pandemic and beyond.
"It can go above and beyond anything that we can do as humans and very, very quickly," CHI Health Lakeside infection preventionist Mariah Gesink said.
The robot, called Tru-D, stands for total room ultraviolet disinfection and is a sanitation and disinfecting device that uses UVC light rays to disinfect every single part of a room.
"Its light basically bounces off something, hits the backside, goes to the floor, goes under the bed and keeps pinging off things like a bouncy ball. So imagine releasing a thousand bouncy balls in a room and having them hit everywhere. That's what the light is doing," Gesink said.
Workers still clean every room once a patient discharges. However, the extra sanitation goes a long way during a worldwide pandemic as head environmental services manager at CHI Health Lakeside Leslie Kleyla explains.
"Humans sometimes have errors and sometimes we may not get into every, little spot of the room. Bringing in the robot is kind of that cherry on the top of getting all areas of the room," she said.
The goal is to make sure people aren't discouraged from going to the hospital during COVID-19 and feeling safe when they do.
The robots go for around $100,000. There's one at the Lakeside CHI Health location and three others at CHI Health locations across the state.
Tru-D comes in handy at the Lakeside location and all across the state, protecting health care workers and patients from COVID-19 and other diseases.